Ban on foreign money in votes now covers state ballot measures
H.R. 3535 — Stop Foreign Funds in Elections Act · Filed by Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced May 21, 2025 · Passed chamber
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What it does
This bill stops foreign people from giving money to ballot measures. It also stops them from giving money to referenda and recall votes at the state and local level. Right now, foreign people cannot give money to federal candidates or parties. This bill closes a gap by applying the same ban to direct-democracy ballot measures. The ban starts when the bill becomes law.
Who it affects
People voting on ballot measures gain protection from foreign money. State and local poll workers must follow the new rule. Foreign people and groups must follow the ban when they deal with ballot campaigns.
One thing to notice
The bill applies the same foreign-money ban that covers federal races to state and local ballot votes. State and local poll workers may need new training to enforce the rule.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 2 Democrats.
- May 21, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- May 21, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on House Administration and Senate Committee on Rules and Administration · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on House Administration”
- May 14, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
- May 14, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 11 - 0”
- Jul 13, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4400)”
- Jul 13, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Steil moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- ballot measures — Questions or proposals that voters decide on directly, not through elected officials.
- referenda — Votes where people decide yes or no on a law or policy.
- recall votes — Votes to remove an elected official from office before their term ends.
- foreign people — People who are citizens of other countries, not the United States.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (680 characters) on Jul 14, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,358 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-19.
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